Song of the Afterlife
by strwalker
Summary: "There was a railroad line on the road to hell, there was a young man down on bended knee, and that is the ending of the tale Orpheus and Eurydice." No, that's not the ending. It continues. It's still an end, it's still a sad story, and it's still a tragedy, but you're still gonna read it.


_Once upon a time, there was a railroad line. _

_Don't ask where. _

_Don't ask when. _

_It was the road to hell. _

_It was hard times. _

_It was the time of Gods who ruled the underworld below, and a time of Men who found a hungry in the world above. _

_And for those who traveled in between, a tale of a young girl whose hunger drove her away and of a young boy whose hope allowed her to disappear._

_The boy's name was Orpheus, and the girl's name was Eurydice. _

_It was an old song that ended in tragedy. _

_Don't ask why. _

_Don't ask how. _

_It's just how it goes. _

_Forever separated, the lovers placed upon themselves. _

_Even in death, they could not be together. _

* * *

Orpheus spent the remaining of his days singing about love stories, stories of men and gods alike. He traveled from pub to pub, singing his songs. Gods and men would fill the pubs when Orpheus came. They were ready to listen to the songs that move them. Many women have even tried to win his love so he could sing about them, but he paid them no attention. Ignoring them while he continued to sing.

One day, three children of Dionysus attempted to seduce the poet wanting him to sing a song about them, but unaware Orpheus remained. Walking by the nymphs, blinded by his sorrow, he did not stop to admire their beauty as other men flock to do. In a drunken rage, the women lashed out at the poet. They pulled his hair, slashed his skin, broke his bones, made him bleed, and burned his guitar. Finally, so they did not leave empty-handed, they stole his voice so they could be forever serenaded.

Orpheus laid there, in the dirt, broken, with eyes staring up into the dark sky. His mouth moved so slightly trying to sing his last song, but no sound left his lips. Instead, they only moved as he sang his soundless song:

_Wait for me_

_I'm coming_

_Wait_

_I'm, coming with you_

_I_'_m coming_

_I'm coming, wait for me_

_I feel the wall repeating_

_The falling of my feet and it sounds like drumming_

_I am not alone_

_I hear the rocks and stone_

_Echoing my song_

_I'm coming_

He stopped and took a breath that rattled.

Six feet down below, the Fates wove Orpheus life. Clotho, the giver of life, stopped spinning. Lachesis, the mathematician who measure the worth of a life, took the final measurements. Then, Atropos, the one who ends it all, cut the string.

Orpheus welcomed the darkness as he took his last breath with a silent song on his lips:

_La_

_la la la_

_ la la la..._

* * *

Hermes looked down at the body of the poet. He remembered the man and his tragic love melody, for the god himself, plays the tune for anyone willing to listen.

_On the road to hell, there was a railroad track._

The God hummed along to the train as he heard it coming up from down below. He watched as the train made its stop, ready to pick up its passengers.

Hermes looked next to him and saw the poet standing next to him. No longer broken and bleeding did the poet appear. The ghostly figure of the man wore the same clothes as his mangled body, but with no signs of torn fabric, dirt, and blood. The ghostly figure of the man stood next to the god watching the train.

With a whistle, the train stopped in front of the two, "All aboard!"

"Time to go," Hermes said.

The poet turned his head to look at the God who spoke to him, then looked back to the train.

"You got your ticket, boy?" Hermes asked. The man look at Hermes, showing a confused face before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a train ticket.

"You don't need to take the long way 'round this time," Hermes said, answering the man's confused thought. He then motioned to train, "Pack your bags boy, or it'll leave without 'cha."

The man looked behind him at Orpheus' body. He then walked over and reached down toward the guitar. His hand passed right through it like water, but when he pulled his hand out a fixed ghostly version of the guitar was removed from the remains. Slipping the instrument onto his back, he walked towards the train.

Before he could get on the train, he was stopped by a man dressed in uniform. The man was the train conductor, Chiron whose responsible for delivering the dead to the underworld. His face was pale and showed no emotion as he laid his hand out.

The poet gave him the ticket; it was punch, then returned to him. The poet entered the empty train car. Sitting down, he looked out the window. He repositioned his guitar, so it was resting on his lap and he started to play a tune:

_~Low~_

_~Keep your head, keep your head~_

_~Low~_

Hermes watched as the train left the station and made its way down. Down six feet under where the last stop would be Hadestown.

"But his destination isn't Hadestown," Hermes hummed to himself. "He's going a lot deeper."

_~Low~_

_~Keep your head, keep your head low~_

_~Go on and keep your head low~_

_~Keep your head, keep your head~_

_~Low~_

* * *

Down in Hadestown, souls were hard at work in the factories providing heat and electricity for the underworld. The people in Hadestown came from above wanting a new life, eternal life, but instead signed it away. One particular worker was named Eurydice. She left her lover for Hadestown. And even when he followed, fighting to bring her home, he failed and thus sentenced her to remain in Hadestown.

Eurydice longed for her lover, Orpheus, who use to play the melodies she took for granted and encourage her to sing with him. Now she could sing her own melody, longing for one she lost because of the promise she broke.

_Promises I made to you_

_I said I would stay with you_

_Whatever weather came our way_

_Side by side_

_Through all the seasons of our lives_

_And if any the sky falls_

_And if anyway the wind blows_

_I promised you_

_I made to you_

_To stay with you_

She wanted to hate him. He was the reason she was stuck in Hadestown because he was not strong enough to trust that she was behind him the whole time. She wanted to hate him, but then she would be a hypocrite. She left him first, why should he trust her. She made a promise and she broke it.

The foreman's door shuts. The workers stop what their doing, even Eurydice stops singing as the factory grows quiet and another door opens.

_"Anybody want a drink?"_

Persephone, the mighty queen herself. Ready to cause trouble behind her husband's back. With the boss's door closed, the workers had their fun drinking, dancing, and singing with their Lady of the Underworld. They'd sing for their past, longing for the good old days.

_It's the little old thing we miss_

_Summer sun_

_Spring flowers_

_Autumn leaves_

_Winter's touch_

Sometimes Eurydice would join in and sing along, but most of the time she sits back and watches. Waiting for the break to be over, so she could get back to work and sing her own song. She's what the boss likes to call a canary, like the musical bird, part of her job is to sing.

The foreman's door opened. Persephone drank the last of the wine while everyone went back to work, but before Eurydice could start her song, a siren rang over Hadestown.

This was no ordinary siren. There was no problem. No danger. Only a warning. The sound of the siren indicates the train that comes to Hadestown to drop off souls of the dead, who then must take an elevator down into realms where the dead remain.

Did you think that Hadestown was a place for the dead to dwell? Remember, the people who work there came of their own free will, but souls that come from the train had lives that were cut short by the Fates.

The workers watched as the train arrived at the station and stopped with a hiss. They gathered around looking, hoping to see someone they once know or someone they once loved.

Is it a terrible thing to hope to see someone you love, dead? Yes, but you can't blame them. Once the workers signed their life away, they became dead to the rest of the world. Never to again leave Hadestown and one cannot die again in the underworld.

The only downside to looking upon your dead loved ones is that they can look back at them. They are bodyless souls and have no purpose in the underworld. Unlike the workers who are souls with their bodies with the purpose and duty of providing the heat and electricity for the underworld. See the difference?

While the workers observed the newcomers, Eurydice, remain where she was — singing for her lost love, Orpheus.

_Walk with me my love_

_Anyway the wind_

_Blows_

* * *

The poet was the last to get off. He remained in his seat tuning his guitar. He was playing the instrument throughout the train ride. He had a song in his head he could not put into words and he needed his instrument to be ready to sing it for him.

He then heard a noise and looked up to see Chiron standing in front of him with his arms crossed. He wanted him to get off the train. The musician looked up and blew air through his lips whistle a familiar tune:

_La _

_la la la _

_la la la_

The poet said nothing, but Chiron heard the pleading in the tune. The conductor uncrossed his arms and held up his hand showing five fingers. Then he turned and left the car.

The poet went back to tuning. Once his guitar was tuned, he then repositioned it onto his back and walked off the train. His eyes widened in confusion as he took in his new surroundings. The pathway from the train was long and instead of the view of the Electric City, he saw blurs of colors. Like he was seeing underwater. Brown and yellow smugged the walls and black shadows lined up down the path, almost like a fence, preventing him from going to a different direction. His surroundings were blurred, but he noticed that he could see the end of the path very clear. Three elevators lined up on the wall at the end.

With no other paths to take, the poet started to walk. He started to play:

_~La~_

_~la la la~_

_~la la la~_

* * *

Where we last left Eurydice, she was singing her song but now she stopped. And listened. People were whispering. She listened closer and heard people talking about a soul that was late getting off the train. The whispers then got softer as a melody was passed around instead:

_~La~_

_~la la la~_

_~la la la~_

Eurydice lifted her head up and looked around. She saw the workers gathered around the path, everyone pushing each other to get a glimpse at the soul. She the melody got louder, Eurydice noticed she too was singing along and then she realized what she was humming. As her humming got louder, so did her passion as she ran towards the crowd trying to push as many people away from her as she could.

_La_

_la la la_

_la la la_

She had to get closer.

_La _

_la la la_

_la la la_

She had to see this soul.

_La _

_la la la_

_la la la_

Her humming soon turned to singing and once she started everyone else stopped to listen to her. The music and her singing even brought the boss's attention who was now outside his office looking down at the commotion. Hades, King of the Underworld looked down upon the soul he recognized immediately, as did his wife.

"Hades!" Persephone cried out. Hades turns to see what his wife was pointing at and saw Eurydice trying to break through the crowd to touch the soul.

"Stop her!" Hades yelled instructing his workers to reach Eurydice who now broke through the crowd. Forcing herself onto the walkway, she got her bearings and looked at the soul walking away from her.

"Orpheus!" She cried out and the soul stopped playing the guitar. She was about to start running when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

"No!" She tried to fight against who held her, but their hold was tight. Preventing her from running after her lover.

"He can't see you," Hermes said quietly.

"Please," she cried. "Just let me walk with him."

"You cannot walk at his side."

"Then I'll walk behind him!" Eurydice cried out, breaking from the god's hold.

She ran to catch up with the soul. Slowing down as she got closer. She then walked behind him keeping an equal pace. She wanted to touch him and raised her hand to reach him, knowing he did not even know she was there.

Unknownst to the wandering soul, As he played, she began to sing along hoping, that in some way, he could hear her:

_I'm coming, wait for me_

_~Wait~_

_I feel the wall repeating_

_~Wait~_

_The falling of my feet and it sounds like drumming_

_I am not alone_

_~Wait~_

_I hear the rocks and stone_

_~Wait~_

_Echoing my song_

_I'm coming..._

_~I'm coming...~_

All of the eyes of Hadestown were on the couple as they watched them arrive at the elevators. Orpheus stopped. Eurydice also stopped, waiting.

He turned around.

She gasped.

Eurydice watched as Orpheus' eyes moved around, looking for who was following him. Then she watched as he opened his mouth but with no sound coming out.

_Eurydice?_

"Orpheus," she whispered but Orpheus did not hear her, nor did he see her. Instead, the poet let out a sigh, turn around, and continued his journey. All while he played his song:

_~La~_

_~la la la~_

_~la la la~_

Eurydice followed him down the path until he was in front of the elevators. She stopped when he stopped. She watched as he stopped playing and pressed the single elevator button. One of the doors then opened. She held her breath and watched as Orpheus stared at the elevator. He then rearranged his hold on his guitar and played another song, but this one was different. It had a different tune and even though it had no words, Eurydice could still hear the story.

The story of a lonely girl, who learned to hold her own, meet a boy who she forever wanted to hold.

_I'm gonna hold you forever_

This boy brought her sunshine and followed her everywhere.

_The wind will never change on us_

Soon the lonely girl forgot what it was like with the darkness and the cold gone.

_As long as we stay with each other_

The girl and the boy made a vow that day, promising to hold each other.

_Then it will always be like this._

_..._

All of Hadestown watched as the poet got on the elevator, taking his song with him. Eurydice studied Orpheus' face, trying hard to remember every detail until the doors closed. His soft eyes, his messy dark hair, the light freckles on his nose, and his closed thin lips.

She blinked.

He was gone.

There was no sound, no cry, no shouts, no movement. No one dared to move, not even the Gods who watched in silence. What could have been done? What could have been said? There was no answer until a soft sound surprised everyone. They watched as the canary stood up continuing to sing her song. They watched as she walked away, through the crowd back to her post where she started to work.

_It's an old song._

_It's an old tale._

_It's an old song._

_But Eurydice is gonna sing it again._

_And again._

_It's a sad song._

_It's a sad tale._

_It's a tragedy. _

_But we're gonna sing it again._

_And again._

_As should you._

_..._

* * *

**AN: This is a fanfiction story based on the off-Broadway and Broadway musical, _Hadestown_. Characters, lyrics, and plots used, modified, and mentioned in the story belong to the musical ****and its creators****. ****No, I have not seen the musical yet, but I will in September. I am merely a fan who fell in love with the music and had an idea of how the story could continue. Hope others like it.**


End file.
